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Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

As many of you know, a very famous author celebrates a birthday in March. Dr. Seuss, as most of us know him, was born on March 2. Each year schools, teachers, librarians, and many more honor Dr. Seuss’s work through fun activities and readings of his stories.

The day surrounding his birthday has even been given a special name, Read Across America Day. The first Read Across America Day was held in 1998 on March 2. Among some of the special first Read Across America activities were an Oregon Head Start Dr. Seuss reading by a retired school teacher which left all children with a Dr. Seuss book, a Utah can collection which lead to the purchase of books for homeless children, and a Seattle Dr. Seuss birthday bash.

Read Across America Day is sponsored by the National Education Association. This year Read Across America Day is celebrated on March 3. I assume that the day changes back and forth depending on if March 2 falls on a weekend when schools are out of session and most libraries are closed.

The idea behind Read Across America Day is to encourage children to read. It also is a way to connect parents and children to reading. Dr. Seuss is a well known author of many loved children’s books. Therefore, his birthday is a wonderful time of the year to get children involved in reading.

Many schools celebrate reading and relay the message of how important reading is by inviting prominent community figures to come and read books to the students. These figures include people such as mayors, elected officials, doctors, etc. Of course, Dr. Seuss books are the most popular choice for reading. They can also be quite a tongue twister for those invited to read them!